machinehead

I'm going to a wedding in Edinburgh this weekend. Hopefully I'll find some time to spend sniffing around at least one music shop. Can anyone point me to shops that are worth a visit? I'll be staying on Thistle Street. Thanks for any input. Frank.

Haha. You're correct of course. My only defence is that I was enjoying a few glasses of white wine in the sunshine. 😉 The correct figures are 717mm and 808mm. Frank.

Since the nut is fixed and the bridge is adjustable, I've given you measurements from the nut. Frank.

From the edge of the nut to the edge of the P pickup is 77mm. From the edge of the nut to the edge of the J pickup is 88mm. Frank.

If you like the Stingray sound and feel then a USA built SUB would be a great budget option. This model was made on the same production line as the "real" Stingray but some economies were made. The most noticeable ones being a painted neck (many owners sand this off and use oil to refinish), no body shaping, and different paint finish on the body. Oh yes, and an ugly scratchguard which is an easy change if you don't like it. It has the same hardware and electrics as the Stingray. They were made from 2003 to 2005. (I stand to be corrected here.) They change hands for under your budget and they deliver far more than the cost. I've owned mine for a long time and gig it occasionally and I'm always impressed. Frank.

I did a gig on Friday night. I played a US Precision through a Thunderfunk amp into a Barefaced BB2. What a glorious sound. As an experiment I used my US Jaguar on Saturday night through the same rig. The Jaguar sounded identical to the Precision on the P pickup. (The Jaguar pickups are switched rather than blended using volume knobs and that might be the key to the sound on a PJ bass?) Frank.

Would you say the same for a pair of RCF 732A ? I ask this because I'm considering those for my pub/club covers band and I'd like to buy a couple of monitors (any advice on monitors?) instead of a sub. Hopefully this is on-topic and relevant to the OPs question. Frank.

Haha. That might be understood only by us Electrical Engineers. 😊 Frank.

I'll second that. Protection Racket cases are well made and not too expensive. Mine is going well after several years of regular use. Frank.

Boots, by Nancy Sinatra. The descending bass line. I played it by ear on my uncle's guitar when I picked it up in his front room when I was about 9 or 10 years old. Shortly after that I learned to play guitar the "proper" way by reading music. That was from about 1968. Around 1985, as the guitar player, I played bass for a gig when the bass player couldn't make it. After that I stayed on bass and I've never played guitar on stage since. Frank.

Your two 8 ohm cabs will present 4 ohms impedance to the amp. Select the 4 ohm setting and you'll be fine. Frank.

I use a Stanley Fatmax toolbag for my small amps. It's very tough, has a plastic bottom and lots of pouches for cables etc. And the yellow will match your yellow amp. Great protection for £14.99. Frank.

That looks great and what a bargain too. How is the weight generally on the Talman basses? I fancy the mint green one with maple fretboard. Very retro looking. Frank.

I agree. My BB2 and Super Midget combined, is as much volume as I'll ever need (actually, more volume than I'll ever need) - and tone to die for. Frank.

Beautiful bass. I hope it gives you years of enjoyment. I can definately see one of those in my future. Frank.

This grates with me. On a ship, the red light is the port (left) light. I'd feel better having the right ear plug coloured GREEN. How sad am I? Frank.

Haha. That's happened to me too with the Walkabout. Another disadvantage of a combo is that it's not as simple to carry a spare amp to a gig. I always have a spare and it's simple to just swap it if your amp fails and you have seperates. If a combo amp fails it's not so simple. There are exceptions of course. Markbass combos I've owned have a cable from the amp to the speaker making it simple to substitute a spare amp. Frank.

😂 Funny. For rehearsals I carry a Barefaced one10 and a small amp inside a cajon bag. It's nice and lightweight and IMO just as convenient as a combo... Having previously owned an AER amp two combo, I'm really tempted by the AER amp three for sale here at the moment. I know I don't need it though. 😉 Frank.

I'd keep the cabs and replace the amp if it were me. A combo is much less flexible. Frank.

One thing that annoys me is demonstrating a two pickup bass, maybe in a multi-bass review, and not telling you what pickups are selected or tone knob settings. Next to useless. The Bass Whisperer is one of the best reviewers I've seen. Frank.

Together they are a monster rig. Huge sounding, with deep lows and higher frequencies than I can hear with my industrial deafness and almost 50 years playing music. Two cabs somehow sound better than one - to my ears anyway. The three rigs idea works a charm for me. I wouldn't rule out a Super Midget for quite big gigs either. Sometimes I use mine in larger pubs and it copes very well. You miss the lows of the BB2 of course, but the SM gets the job done easily enough on its own. It's a bit more expensive to buy two 1x12 cabs rather than a single 2x12 but honestly, the flexibility is worth the cost to me. For most gigs, I need only one cab. Having two means I can cover any gig if required. Frank.

I would second the Fender Rumble 500 combo although I agree with Dan Dare that separate amp and cab makes far more sense in the long term. Frank.

Haha. I'm glad you didn't like it because I still have it and still love it, over three years later. I added a Super Midget but rarely need them both. But it does show that we all have different tastes and requirements from our gear. Frank.

That's interesting StevieE. My PJ Jazz has the P pickup about 20mm closer to the nut than a traditional P bass. On the other hand on my USA Jaguar has the P pickup only 5mm closer to the nut. I do wonder if the different positions make much audible difference to the sound? It's something I must try sometime although, on a gig, I don't know if it would be significant? Frank.

Handled like a true pro. I once had a female dancer accidently punch a mic into my lip. I had to finish the song with a little trickle of blood running down my chin. Frank.